FLINT, Mich.–One thing that keeps Shakespeare popular among audiences and artists alike is that a show is never the same way twice. With no copyright or rights to worry about, it is a director’s playground, one where he or she can explore with any sort of concept, change the script up, add words, take some away or set the play in any setting or time.

Director Jeremy Winchester took such liberties with The Tempest, now being performed at Flint Youth Theater. He and Kyle Clark adapted Shakespeare’s magical play to set it in the center ring of a circus, complete with a ringmaster who guides the audience through each scene. They tightened the play, had Costume Designer Adam M. Dill bedeck the players in everything from high Victorian garb to shiny sequined cloaks, and had Dan Gerics compose and perform original music that acted as a constant soundtrack to this fantasy.

Large sails dominate the stage surrounded by the divided ring of the center circle. Gene Oliver’s scenic design instantly evokes the sea-tossed island even while constraining it within the circus ring It’s a clever trick and he does it well, primarily with flowing sheets that can open and reveal hidden rooms.

Bary Lehr is the ringmaster, and he fulfills the archetype of the character. His straight posture and quick movements are like those of an emcee of yore. He absorbs the high-tech music of the musicians—a collection of bass, keyboard, percussion, guitar, violin and tablas—and speaks directly to the audience, telling them what to expect from each scene.

His role is especially entertaining as it tickles Shakespeare aficionados in the audience, pulling monologues and bits of speech from other plays inviting them to a trivia game of sorts where they can guess which play he’s quoting at any given moment.

Lehr sets the scene and establishes the setting with his barker-like voice and the ease with which he interacts with the audience.

In a contrast to the sleek ringmaster, Michael Kelly’s Prospero carries himself with gravitas and is a powerful, yet kindly, being who rules the island with his magic and his strength. He is a tender father to Miranda, a stern taskmaster to Caliban, a revenging angel to those who have wronged him, and a benevolent master to Ariel and her Island Spirits. Kelly embodies all these roles and moves with dignity and grace.

The picture of innocence and naiveté, Kate Spademan’s Miranda expresses her wonder at the outer world which come to invade the isolated isle on which she’s lived for so long. She and Andrew L. Aikins III’s Ferdinand have palpable chemistry between them and the two are so sweetly in love that it is easy to see why Winchester and Clark cut the scene where Prospero warns Ferdinand against taking the physical rights of his wife before the proper wedding is performed—this isn’t a Ferdinand to whom such a thing would even occur to him.

The spirits and creatures of the isle are often what distinguishes each production of Tempest from another. In this one, Ariel is accompanied by six island spirits and they all wear gauzy cloaks and move with airy dances that set them apart from the human inhabitants of the isle. Layla Meillier’s Ariel is in constant motion, a spirit of the air who is ever intent and focused. Meillier wavers between childlike and ancient, her makeup and costuming contributing to her airy appeal.

Meanwhile, Katie Young’s Caliban is a creature of the earth and Young contorts her body to draw it ever closer to the ground as she moves. She alters her voice as she grovels and schemes, but always keeps it clear and distinct for the audience to understand. Removed from this version is all mention of Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, thus making the creature more pitiful than monstrous. Young adeptly shows the effects of Prospero’s torments upon her body and then later creates comic gold with William Irwin’s Stephano and Mark Gmazel’s Trinculo—two drunken clowns that Caliban mistakes for gods bearing liquid elixir in the form of sack.

While significantly shortened, this version also displays the scheming of Kristina Lakey’s Antonia, usurping sister to Prospero, and David A. Guster’s Sebastian whom Antonia prompts to plot against his brother, the king of Naples—LaTroy Childress’ Alonso. They’re accompanied by Dennis J. Sykes’ Gonzalo, an honest advisor who once helped to save Prospero’s life

This quartet is dressed in high Victorian garb, setting them apart from the lower class clowns and the inhabitants of the isle. They represent the world from which Prospero came and to which he plans to return. We see in them both nobleness, mourning, treachery and dishonesty. And they share the audience’s wonderment at the tricks and spectacle of the island’s spirits.

Performed without intermission, this play is in constant motion, with dialogue trumping monologues and tight choreography helping to provide the other-worldliness of the island.

It is an ensemble that works well together, keeping the pace progressing with an even flow, taking cues from the spirits that flit about and create pomp and circumstance only to then melt away into the darkness.

Flint Youth Theater also does an excellent job of casting a diverse group of actors, reflecting their community in ethnicity and age.

Winchester has imagined a “Tempest” filled with magic and presented with a theatricality that takes full advantage of being a live show. It is unapologetically a performance, an act of storytelling plucked from familiar lore to tantalize and entertain audiences of all ages.

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